Fred Elliot returns to Corrie as spirit

The spirit of Coronation Street's dead butcher Fred Elliot is to make its presence felt in Weatherfield when it 'possesses' trainee meat seller Graeme Proctor.

Graeme - played by relative soap newcomer Craig Gazey - finds Fred's (John Savident) old straw boater at Ashley's (Steven Arnold) butcher's and begins to wear it on a day-to-day basis.

Corrie residents are soon stunned to hear Graeme take on the repetitive speech pattern of the late character.

One script sees Graeme tell Ashley that he found the hat "from that rack, I say, from that rack in the back".

Also, when barmaid Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) compliments Graeme on his boater, he apparently replies: "Eeh, that’s right kind of you Michelle, I say right kind - in't it our Ashley?"

A Corrie source told The Sun: "This storyline will be absolutely hilarious. The character of Graeme is proving to be one of our funniest and this will be laughs all the way."

They added: "We've even talked about having the hat exorcised, which would be fantastic telly."

The larger-than-life butcher suffered a heart attack in October 2006 and died in the hallway of his close friend Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls).

Last month, John Savident expressed his disappointment with Coronation Street chiefs, claiming that they didn't try hard enough to accommodate his request for a lighter workload, while also cutting back on bonuses.

More recently, he criticised the younger Corrie cast for their attitude toward their acting roles.